Millions of people on the American continent had the opportunity to see a solar eclipse, also known as the ‘ring of fire’, a product of the passage of the moon between the Earth and the Sun, which causes a shadow on the planet and leaves fascinating images for astronomy lovers. The phenomenon was 100% visible in several states in the United States, while Colombia and Brazil were the countries that had the best visibility in Latin America.
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During an annular eclipse, the Moon is slightly farther from Earth than during a total eclipse, so its diameter appears, from our point of view, slightly smaller than that of the Sun, producing this orange “ring.”
The event is also a scientific opportunity for NASA, which plans to closely study changes in temperature and the atmosphere.
The eclipse was visible shortly after 9:00 a.m. local time in the US state of Oregon, on the Pacific coast, and crossed the United States from northwest to south, appearing about half an hour later in the sky over southern Texas. .
It made its entire journey through the center and south of the continent and ended at the height of the Atlantic Ocean, after passing through Venezuela.
Hot air balloon festival
In total, the eclipse could be observed in parts of eight American states.
The “ring of fire” corresponding to the circumference of the Sun lasts from a few tens of seconds to more than 5 minutes, depending on the observation location.
We’re getting our first views of the “ring of fire”!
Here’s a look at the annular solar eclipse from Albuquerque, NM, as the Moon nearly (but not completely) covers up the Sun. pic.twitter.com/SCW8r77FG4
— NASA (@NASA) October 14, 2023
NASA broadcast a video program on its website, with live feeds from New Mexico and Texas.
At the same time, a large annual hot air balloon festival was taking place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, which produced sensational images.
Other nearby eclipses
The event also served as a dress rehearsal before a total eclipse planned for April 2024 over the United States.
These two eclipses, annular and total, “will be absolutely impressive for scientific research,” said Madhulika Guhathakurta, a scientist in NASA’s heliophysics department.
“During a solar eclipse, there is a significant drop in electron density in the ionosphere,” a layer of the atmosphere, he explained.
And “although the atmospheric effects of solar eclipses have been studied for more than 50 years, many questions remain,” he stressed. For example, “what part of the ionosphere is affected, for how long, and why is this?”
NASA had prepared the launch of three sounding rockets from the White Sands military base in New Mexico: one before the eclipse, another during and a final one after the event.
The goal: collect data on the magnetic and electric fields, the density of electrons and the temperature that drops due to the shadow produced by the Moon. This could also have destabilized the animals.
In 2017, a total eclipse took place in the United States. After April, the next one will take place in 2044.
A total eclipse will also be visible in Spain in August 2026.
The Sun is about 400 times larger than the Moon, but it is also 400 times farther away, so the two appear similar in size from Earth.
With AFP
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